Section
Pepperdine Links
Online Publications
The Pepperdine Speech and Debate Team is making waves this year with the emergence of some unlikely candidates. The team is coming off a tournament triumph from early November at Colorado College, where freshman Robin Nasby made a name for herself.
Pepperdine claimed the first place debate prize in Colorado. Nasby achieved this feat in only her second tournament. With the win, she qualifies for the National Forensics Association national tournament, to be in Wisconsin in March.
Nasby followed up the Colorado victory with a third place finish at Cal State University, Northridge.
“We are looking forward to her getting the additional required legs and attending the tournament (American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament) in the spring,” Director of Speech and Debate Sue Peterson said of Nasby in an e-mail.
In her debates, Nasby discussed the evolution of human beings throughout the tsunami tragedy of Southeast Asia in December 2004. Her research brought up the stories of several victims who were able to swim for hours. She originally presented the topic in her Speech 180 class and was encouraged by the professor to present it on a more competitive level.
Kylie Robertson, assistant director of speech and debate, described Nasby as a “Keith Jarbo, walk-on player” with endless work ethic and drive.
“The reason I think this is such a great victory is because she did go to a tournament and she talked to judges and she really learned what a top quality presentation would be. And then she went back and did research and made some of her own changes on how she could present the material in a more compelling way,” Robertson said.
Sophomore Michael Wang and freshman Nicholas Stewart are staking their claim as serious contenders as well.
Preceding Nasby’s Colorado College performance, the Wang and Stewart duo won a first-place victory at the Santa Clara University Invite in September. Stewart came away with the title of the top speaker in that tournament.
The two presidents of the team are senior Steven Dhillon and senior Chris Wolff. They both compete at an open level, somewhat of a junior varsity status, but their experience and influence on the young squad is essential, according to Robertson.
“The advantages of being an up-and-coming team are that you can catch other schools off-guard, but the disadvantages are the lack of fame and experience,” Robertson said.
Robertson also said each student’s schedule plays a factor in determining what event each participates in.
“Students with more flexible schedules tend to participate in policy debate, whereas seniors with more hectic schedules will likely compete in parliament debate.”
In policy debate, as Robertson described, teams are given one topic for the entire academic year.
Research and arguments are to be developed before and during the season. Each team member must argue for the proposal and against the proposal at least three times each in a season.
In parliament debate, students appear at a tournament with no previous knowledge of the topic. Once the topics are presented, each team has 15 minutes to prepare its argument. It is a much more impromptu format in comparison to policy debate, Robertson said.
The 25-member squad is not even halfway through its season. The Wake Forest Invitational is Nov. 19 to 21. Most national tournaments will take place from early March to mid-April.
Submitted 11-17-2005
MALIBU, CA
